Touch & Connection

Human beings need touch. Think for a moment about how much touch you receive in your life, and the quality of that touch. How about the elders in your life? Or our veterans when they return for their tours? Touch is a fundamental need for each of us. Lack of touch and connection has been associated with many serious health concerns we now face: addiction, chronic pain, depression and anxiety, and more.

"Pain is multi-dimensional and may be better addressed through an integrative approach. Massage therapy is commonly used among people seeking pain management and research has generally supported its use. But, until now there has been no published, rigorous review of the available research and evidence for its efficacy for people with various types of pain." This is an excerpt from an article on the American Massage Therapy Association's website discussing the role of massage therapy in pain management. In you're interested in reading the whole thing, here's a link for you. This is especially exciting in the face of the opioid crisis. Manual therapies are now considered first line therapy by the CDC in the treatment of chronic pain, yielding impressive results without all the side effects of medications, not to mention the risk of addiction. (Well, you might not want to live without massage, but that's a different story. ;) )

Touch is why we do what we do. We believe that not only do humans need touch and connection, but that we need touch and connection to heal. We heal in the company of others, and the sense of connection you can find with the right practitioner is key to this experience. And, of course, our four legged friends are really great medicine too!